What happens when a whole bunch of green Jell-O, befuddled returned missionaries, a singles ward full of strange, scripture-toting students, and a family of 10 children all named after scripture characters combine into one big, hectic story?
That’s right, a Mormon movie.
“Put the casserole down and step away from the minivan!”
Sound familiar? It’s a quote from The Singles Ward, a movie about a divorced man who must re-enter the singles scene.
Dave Hunter, co-founder of Halestorm Entertainment, which has produced such movies as The Singles Ward and The R.M., said his company has found its niche.
However, some film critics disagree with Hunter’s portrayal of LDS people.
“They are all about the culture and the sort of jokes about green Jell-O and funeral potatoes and too many dishes at the potluck, and there’s not a lot of discussion about what it really means to be a Mormon,” said Sean Means, a film critic at The Salt Lake Tribune, in an interview with National Public Radio.
Professor Larry Thurgood, chairman of religious education at BYU-Idaho, agrees.
“When we’re dealing with the kingdom of God, the most important organization in the world, it seems kind of weird to create misconceptions [about our religion],” Thurgood said.
BYU-Idaho students, however, find the movies entertaining.
“They can be cheesy at times, but they exaggerate LDS culture, which is funny,” said Keith Shaw, a freshman from Salt Lake City.
“I think the stereotypes are pretty accurate, maybe over the top, but it helps us realize we’re a pretty peculiar people,” said Paul Garner, a freshman from Taber, Alberta.
In an attempt to create better films, some LDS filmmakers have gone in a different direction.
Saints and Soldiers, a film centered on an LDS soldier during World War II, won 11 awards including best picture in various film festivals, but it was also originally rated R, surprising director Adam Abel.
“My wife and I don’t see R-rated movies,” Abel said in an interview with Newsweek. “So it’s interesting now to have made one.”
Producers of The Work and the Glory: American Zion, which also received a PG-13 rating, worry that their film might not attract as many people as its predecessor because some church members do not see PG-13 rated films.
“But we’ve done our best to keep true to the spirit of the books and still be truthful to the time. We haven’t done anything to compromise the material. We haven’t tried to be exploitative or edgy,” said producer Scott Swofford in an interview with Deseret News.
Despite problems with ratings, LDS filmmakers continue to produce more movies. Another Work and the Glory movie will be released in 2006, as well as Church Ball, a movie about ward basketball rivals, Suits on the Loose, a story about two delinquent teens who pose as missionaries and a sequel to The Singles Ward according to www.ldsfilm.com.
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